An Industry Responds
The events of Sept. 11 affected several trade associations and land mobile radio manufacturers, whether it was in cancellations or in their rush to aid the rescue and recovery workers:
AeroComm, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, helped cellular telephone companies and the Port Authority re-establish telephone and radio coverage at ground zero using infrared transceivers and reconfiguring existing cellular telephone infrastructure in New Jersey. Aerocomm personnel are also working with the Port Authority to restore its emergency public safety radio systems.
Nextel Communications, Reston, VA, began lending wireless telephones that day to federal, state and government agencies and to emergency service providers, such as the American Red Cross. More than 2,000 phones with unlimited cellphone and two-way radio service were delivered to New York, Washington and Boston.
Itronix donated 20 of its portable computers to the relief effort in New York. The computers can display three-dimensional models of debris in the area of the collapse. These renderings will assist in removal of the wreckage, as well as pinpoint the location of hazardous substances known to be in the buildings at the time of the collapse.
The Industrial Telecommunications Association canceled its 2001 Private Wireless Spectrum Management Conference and Exposition after what ITA President Laura Smith said was “careful consideration of all the relevant issues, as well as consultation with the leadership of ITA, USMSS and CICS.” On Sept. 12, ITA had postponed the conference, which was originally to be held Sept. 19–21 at the Grand Hyatt in Washington.
The Personal Communications Industry Association’s GlobalXChange scheduled for Sept. 11 in Los Angeles was canceled. Two industry figures—COO of Metrocall Steven Jacoby and Karen Kincaid, a partner in a Washington law firm—died on American Airlines Flight 77